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March Madness Nearly Over For NYPD

March 2007 must be one of the worst months in recent history for the New York City Police Department. Despite figures released this week showing a further drop in crime, the city's cops keep coming under attack. As if the … Read More

March 2007 must be one of the worst months in recent history for the New York City Police Department. Despite figures released this week showing a further drop in crime, the city's cops keep coming under attack.

As if the death of two auxiliary officers in a Greenwich Village shooting wasn't enough, March has also witnessed the shooting of one officer in the foot and the stabbing of another officer in the head. Yesterday, an officer was attacked by a man wielding a railing from a hospital bed where he was supposed to be under guard.

Miguel Gabriel, 19, had his feet shackled and his arm cuffed to the bed, but he somehow managed to wrench the railing free, attacking officer Mikhail Vinitsky who was supposed to be guarding him.

Vinitsky tried to subdue Gabriel with pepper spray and a baton before finally drawing his gun and shooting him four times. According to the New York Daily News:

Even after Gabriel was shot, cops answering Vinitsky's radio call for help had to use a stun gun and pepper spray to subdue the attacker, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

"Even though he was shot, he was still standing, and fighting," Kelly said after visiting Vinitsky, who was in stable condition. He suffered a concussion and required six stitches to close a gash on his head, police said.